Lula to travel to Barcelona in April at Pedro Sánchez’s invitation for a bilateral summit

Eduardo González Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will travel to Barcelona next April for a bilateral summit with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez and to participate in the fourth meeting of the initiative "In Defense of Democracy: Fighting Extremism," co-led by Spain and Brazil. The two leaders announced this on Wednesday via social media. "I just spoke with President Lula about the situation in the Middle East," Sánchez wrote. "We both share our desire for an end to the war and for negotiations to begin as soon as possible within the framework of international law," he continued. "We will work together for that future and will also hold a bilateral summit on April 17 in Barcelona," he added. "I spoke by phone with the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez," Lula posted. “I have accepted an invitation to make a bilateral visit to Spain on April 17 and have confirmed my participation in the fourth high-level meeting of the “In Defense of Democracy” initiative, on April 18, in Barcelona,” he announced. According to Lula, the two leaders also discussed the situation in the Middle East and shared “the hope that the war can end as soon as possible and that peace negotiations can begin under the protection of international law.” “We also reiterated our commitment to multilateralism as the path to building the peace and sustainable development that the world desperately needs,” he concluded. Lula’s last official visit to Spain, specifically to Madrid, took place on April 25 and 26, 2023. That was his first visit to the country in almost 20 years, after his visit in September 2003, during his previous term, when he was received by King Juan Carlos and the then Prime Minister, José María Aznar. During his 2023 visit, the President of Brazil and Sánchez discussed the negotiations for the EU-Mercosur trade agreement (which concluded successfully last January) and Brazil's proposal to create a "G20 for Peace" in Ukraine, an idea accepted by the Spanish President, but with "qualities": "There is an aggressor and a victim, and if we want a just and lasting peace, it is essential that the voice of the victim be heard." In addition to his meeting with Sánchez, Lula da Silva was received at the Royal Palace by King Felipe VI. The initiative "In Defense of Democracy, Fighting Extremism" was launched by Sánchez and Lula in September 2024 at UN headquarters in New York, on the sidelines of the General Assembly. On that occasion, representatives from twenty countries were invited, along with the President of the European Council and the UN Secretary-General, to address, among other topics, disinformation, hate speech and violent extremism, the fight against inequality, and the promotion of sustainable and inclusive economic growth. The second meeting took place in July 2025 in Chile, with the participation of Pedro Sánchez, and the presidents of Chile, Gabriel Boric; Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva; Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi; and Colombia, Gustavo Petro. The third meeting was held in September of that same year in New York, coinciding with the United Nations High-Level Week. The United States participated in the first meeting, but was not even invited to the third, which was held with Donald Trump as president.

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